Editorial.  495 
EDITORIAL. 
THE  AMERICAN  PHARMACEUTICAL  ASSOCIATION. 
The  members  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association  assembled  at 
Montreal  this  year  under  the  most  favorable  conditions  for  a  successful  meet- 
ing, except  the  one  temporary  drawback  of  high  temperature  ;  this,  however, 
had  practically  disappeared  before  the  first  session  convened,  and,  therefore,  did 
no  more  harm  than  to  keep  a  few  members  at  home.  All  the  sessions  were  well 
attended,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there  was  an  absence  of  the  tension 
which  prevailed  at  the  two  preceding  meetings,  in  the  shape  of  alcohol  legis- 
lation and  college  requirements.  In  regard  to  the  former  it  may  be  said  that 
those  in  favor  of  tax-free  alcohol  evidently  consider  it  hopeless  to  try  to  get 
any  concessions  from  Congress,  if  a  majority  of  the  members  of  this  Associa- 
tion are  opposed  to  a  removal  of  the  tax.  Concerning  college  requirements, 
the  members  have  evidently  come  to  a  realization  of  the  fact  that  they  have 
no  jurisdiction  over  the  colleges.  The  best  the  Association  can  do  is  to  make 
recommendations,  which  was  done  mildly  this  year  in  some  of  the  papers  pre- 
sented to  the  Section  on  Education  and  Legislation. 
In  the  general  sessions,  business  was  conducted  promptly  and  without  much 
friction.  Some  of  the  reports  of  committees  were  unnecessarily  lengthy,  but 
before  they  ran  the  gauntlet  in  the  general  meeting  or  one  of  the  sections  they 
were  sufficiently  trimmed  to  prevent  them  from  doing  harm,  and  in  most  cases 
they  did  or  will  do  good. 
The  Section  on  Commercial  Interests  was  the  source  of  some  uneasiness  to 
the  members  in  general,  and,  prompted  by  the  feelings  of  anxiety  for  the 
reputation  of  the  Association,  they  attended  the  one  session  of  this  Section  in 
a  body.  Chairman  Seabury,  however,  "is  nothing  if  not  original,"  and  this 
year  he  had  a  surprise  in  store  in  the  shape  of  answers  to  the  queries  which 
had  been  propounded  to  members.  These  queries  he  embodied  in  his  address, 
with  the  answers  thereto,  which  he  had  received  from  five  members.  The 
answers  he  had  tabulated,  so  that  in  one  short  hour  the  combined  address  and 
papers  were  disposed  of.  The  Chairman  apparently  satisfied  the  members 
present  by  his  statement,  backed  by  one  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Section,  in 
reference  to  the  journal  known  as  the  Mortar  and  Pestle,  whose  publication 
by  the  officers  of  the  Commercial  Section,  soon  after  the  Denver  meeting,  was 
a  surprise  to  most  members  of  the  Association,  but  which  came  to  an  untimely 
end  after  the  issue  of  four  numbers.  The  Chairman,  however,  declared  his  inten- 
tion to  continue  the  publication.  Nevertheless,  the  Association  was  quick  to 
disclaim  any  responsibility,  and  a  motion  was  carried  to  expunge  all  reference 
to  the  publication  from  the  minutes,  and  to  direct  that  the  name  of  the  Asso- 
ciation should  not  be  used  in  connection  therewith. 
The  Section  on  Scientific  Papers  was  the  most  successful  one  at  the  meeting. 
Its  proceedings  were  delayed  considerably  by  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Pharmacopoeia,  which  had  been  referred  to  it  by  the  General  Session.  This 
report,  when  it  left  the  Scientific  Section,  was  so  clipped  as  not  to  be  recogniz- 
able. The  members  of  the  Association  are  not  yet  ready  to  make  themselves 
ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  the  Committee  of  Revision  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  by  sug- 
gesting sweeping  changes  ;  for  example,  the  substitution  of  artificially  pre- 
